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Sunday, October 4, 2009

ENHANCING THE COMMON CEILING FAN--A TUTORIAL AND GIVEAWAY!!

I'm linking this tutorial with DIY DAY over at A Soft Place to Land and Today's Creative Blog's weekly edition of Get Your Craft On! Be sure not to miss the Giveaway at the bottom of this tutorial--it ends on October 31!

If your home is filled with ceiling fans as is ours, and you are a crafty person, you might enjoy making a few FANDANGLES. They are a simple, quick, fun way to embellish the pull chain portion of your fans. Here are photos of 2 that I added to our utility room fan (note the energy efficient bulbs!):

SUPPLIES NEEDED:An item to use as a focal piece--possibilities: old earrings, ornaments, charms

Various beads and/or crystals

Needle-nosed pliers and wire cutters

Beading wire, crimp beads, and ball chain

This great little device: ball chain coupling and ball chain connectors. I was able to find the chain, couplings, and connectors at my local Ace Hardware store.

STEP 1:Choose your focal piece for your Fandangle.For this demonstration, I decided I wanted to use the lovely emerald green charm from the bracelet pictured previously. Using the pliers, I separated the charm from the bracelet's chain:

STEP 2:Using the wire cutters, cut off 8-10" of beading wire (more if you are making an extra long Fandangle).

STEP 3:Slide 2 crimp beads, then your chosen focal piece onto the beading wire. Thread the wire back through the crimp beads, sliding the crimp beads down close to the focal piece. Using the pliers, press (crimp) and secure the crimp beads in position:

STEP 4:Arrange your chosen beads and crystals, adding them to the wire:

Optional: After using these in various spots around the house, I did find that the coupling could actually cut through the beading wire if family members repeatedly gripped the beaded portion of the Fandangle, instead of the actual chain portion, for making fan adjustments. I found these little gadgets that seem to add extra strength and help to prolong the life of the Fandangle. If you choose to not incorporate them in your designs, be sure to emphasize to users/recipients to not pull on the beaded portion of the Fandangle.

Stringing Thimble:I ordered mine from Artbeads.comSTEP 5:As in Step 3, add 2 crimp beads and the coupling (with optional stringing thimble in place) to the beading wire, then pull the wire back through the crimp beads and a few of the first beads. Remove any slack from the wire, press (crimp) and secure the crimp beads in place then trim off any excess wire.

STEP 6:Decide how long you will need the ball chain, cut it to length, attach one end to the coupling, and add a connector to the opposite end.

Your Fandangle is now complete--just add it to the pull chain of your ceiling fan!

This is how the blue rhinestone brooch FANDANGLE came together:

Add a fun tag and it is ready for gift giving!

Here are some others I fashioned from old necklaces, misc. beads, Christmas ornaments, and funky earrings:

NOW FOR A GIVEAWAY!One lucky reader will receive their choice of either the (1) emerald green charm FANDANGLE; or (2) blue rhinestone brooch FANDANGLE.To enter just add a comment to this post, letting me know which design you prefer.To increase your chances of winning, visit my Crazy For Collars Etsy shop and let me know in a separate comment to this post which Christmas collar design is your favorite.Be sure to include an email so that I may contact you if you are the lucky winner.Entries will be accepted until October 31, 2009. The randomly selected winner will be announced on November 1. At that time I will contact the winner via email to obtain the mailing address.

I'm linking this post to Susan's weekly Metamorphosis Monday Event, so click on the image below to see lots of other wonderful "re-purposings" and "creations".

Hi, Suzanne..well, I live in West Texas so you KNOW I have fans in every room!! :)....and not very far from you. Maybe we can get together for an afternoon of lunch and shopping one day!! Fun!I love your ideas...so pretty.xo bj

So cool and I do have lots of ceiling fans!! I would love the green one!! It looks like a lot of work and I don't think I would like to try to find all of the things I would need!! YIKES...but ohhhhhhh so cool.